Thoughts, articles, and published work.
January 25, 2020
Today is a special, heartbreaking day for everybody who participated in the attempt to liberate Egypt from the yoke of oppression. We tried, and we failed. Our attempt was at first noble, then grew…
March 1, 2019
This brave young man went to Tahrir today, holding a sign that says 'Leave, Sisi", ' thus making him undoubtedly the bravest man in Egypt, if not the world. Sadly, I fear the worst outcome will…
September 19, 2018
Egypt has suffered a great loss today, as Gamil Ratib, a fantastic actor who made many of his roles unforgettable, died at 92. Aside from being a wonderful actor, Gamil was also a kind, gentle, and…
July 6, 2018
I've read Ezzedine Fishere's article describing how the military will eventually relinquish power. I like Fishere, and I've liked him since he showed up on my TV screen one day and suggested that the…
January 25, 2018
We're the ones who lost. We're the ones who took to the streets in the hope that if there were enough of us out there, things would change. We're the ones you saw down from your balconies, the ones…
January 3, 2018
I am sick of those who, while living in comfort, would seek to rob those who suffer of their opportunity to revolt because they believe that all hope is conspiracy. These condescending idiots are not…
October 25, 2017
You’re impatient. All you have to do is wait. Everything takes time. Give the man a chance. This has been the chorus, and it arose within months after El Sisi came to office. It’s still there, spoken…
February 9, 2017
The problems facing Egypt today seem numerous, but that's an illusion. All these problems are just symptoms of one disease; the military dictatorship that has ruled Egypt for more than 60 years.…
March 31, 2016
The battle of Mohamed Mahmoud, as it is called, was one of the most important battles of the January revolution, and for several reasons – We had failed, as a people and as a revolutionary community,…
August 28, 2015
In 2011, as we walked past Agouza on our march from Mohandessein, people cheered to us from their balconies. Families looked out of their windows and they expressed both pride and joy, young men…
August 26, 2015
In 2011, as we walked past Agouza on our march from Mohandessein, people cheered us on from their balconies. Families looked out of their windows, and they expressed both pride and joy, young men…
January 6, 2015
On the 30 th of June, 2013, we took to the streets to protest the rule of Dr. Mohamed Morsi, a member of the so-called Muslim Brotherhood and then president of Egypt. We protested against him, and…
December 23, 2014
How long must we endure? It is difficult to take events in Egypt seriously right now. It has become normal to see legal and judicial travesties on a daily basis; a news story about two people being…
November 4, 2014
There are certain things people need to realize first to sense the necessity of change and, in some cases, the urgency. Let’s start with a basic social truth – there is no ‘bottom.’ Your society,…
October 27, 2014
As an Egyptian in Egypt these days, you get used to absurdity. It starts when you wake up and look at the news and then frustrates you during the day as you see it resonate with some of the people…
October 26, 2014
This is the only Egypt your actions have allowed, one in which innocents are sentenced for standing up for their own rights or the rights of others. It is the same Egypt, in which you support a…
September 13, 2014
When we speak of the imprisoned protesters in Egypt, many of whom are now, and have been, on a hunger strike, many of us think of the physical pain itself; how hungry you get in the first few days,…
July 7, 2014
The military will starve you, then feed you. They will raise gas prices then offer you transportation on their buses. They will make deals with terrorists, then offer to save you from them. Behind…
July 6, 2014
Imagine that a corporation ran your country. Now imagine this corporation has managed to take over at least a third of the country’s assets. Imagine if this corporation enacted laws that allowed it…
June 3, 2014
A few points need to be made here. First of all, I find it at least a bit strange when people refer to me as part of a ‘you’ that they call the ‘opposition’ and then tell me that this ‘we’ was…
May 3, 2014
The summer of 2011 must’ve been an incredible time for Hamdein Sabbahi. He was one of the darlings of the revolution, known as a left-leaning Nasserist (whatever that means), ignored only by the…
April 16, 2014
So, finally – when their lackluster attempts at reason fall apart, they tell you it’s just a difference of opinion and that it’s okay to disagree. So yeah, it’s just ‘opinion’… Well – It’s my…
March 22, 2014
Being held by armed men - in most cases, that would be the police or the military - is something anybody who's never been arrested or tried for a crime can't ever quite understand. In my case, I…
March 3, 2014
It takes no genius to recognize that Egypt is off the rails. Most Egyptian media is exhibiting an undying commitment to polarization, despite it being quite well known that, behind closed doors, the…
February 10, 2014
Perhaps one of the biggest changes we’ll all felt since Jan 25, 2011, is – the euphoria and the burden of – choice. Will you go down? What for? Will you risk your life? On which issues? What is the…
February 1, 2014
Obligatory recap It’s difficult to know how far back to go – but let’s just say this; it’s January 2014, the Post-Morsi constitution has passed, with a (ridiculously) high approval but a relatively…
October 30, 2013
Excuse the title. I like the Camelot myths. I’ve never read the original Malory, though, and wasn’t quite so interested in it when I was a child. The whole knight in shining armor thing never quite…